Each year, the C&O Canal Trust welcomes spring with our annual Canal Pride Days. These public events draw hundreds of volunteers from the community and allow Canal lovers to help ready the Park for the busy season by tackling a variety of preservation and maintenance projects. Read More
Visitors accessing the C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP) at Edwards Ferry (Mile 30.8) will find a smooth surface running to Whites Ferry (Mile 35.5) – the first five miles of the towpath to be resurfaced as part of the Park’s proposed multi-year, 80-mile towpath resurfacing project. Read More
At 184.5 miles long and with more historical structures than any other national park, the C&O Canal National Historical Park is always a work in progress. This summer, however, visitors will be able to enjoy the fruits of several big projects that nearing completion. Read More
What’s it like to work in a national park? Would this be a good fit for me?
This spring and early summer, a group of teenagers from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the National Park Service have had the opportunity to answer those questions as participants in a new Canal For All program developed by the Trust to inspire these young people to aspire to a career in the Park Service they may not have yet considered. Read More
A new documentary featuring the C&O Canal and the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP Trail) will air in March on WQED in Pittsburgh and in May on MPT in Maryland. One of America’s most treasured biking destinations, cyclists from around the world enjoy 335 uninterrupted miles of breathtaking scenery and fascinating history on the two connecting trails, which run from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh, PA. Fellow cyclists serve as the tour guides on this video journey. Read More
Last year, the C&O Canal Trust and the C&O Canal National Historical Park worked with Dr. Josh Howard of Passel Historical Consulting on a project that traced the history of the African American Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) along the C&O Canal. The resulting report, “Our Only Alma Mater:” The Civilian Conservation Corps and the C&O Canal, was recently awarded an Excellence in Consulting Award from the National Council on Public History. Read More
The C&O Canal Trust recently launched a new Job Skills Development Program that will provide hands-on experiences in a National Park setting to disadvantaged youth ages 14-17 during the spring and summer of 2019. The program will expose its participants to training in preservation, conservation, and maintenance projects, and will also provide enrichment programs will resume building, recreational opportunities, and job shadowing. Read More
2019 is going to be a very busy year for our Canal Pride program as the Trust works with volunteers from our canal communities to help the Park recover from the floods of 2018 and the effects of the government shutdown. Beginning in March, the Trust will recruit over 1,000 Canal Pride volunteers to undertake projects throughout the year along the 184.5-mile length of the canal: campground and picnic area improvements, towpath and trail repairs, building maintenance and historic preservation, invasive plant and trash removal, native landscaping, and more.
In 2016, the C&O Canal Trust embarked on a mission to ensure the C&O Canal National Historical Park would be relevant and cared for in future generations. Called the “Canal For All” initiative, the program sought to develop lasting, balanced partnerships with African American and Latino communities in Montgomery County, MD, where 38 percent of the population are Hispanic or African American. Read More
With the re-opening of the government, the C&O Canal Trust, the official nonprofit partner to the C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP), will be working closely with Park staff in the coming weeks to assess damage done to the C&O Canal NHP during the month-long closure, and to identify immediate and longer-term maintenance needs. The Trust will then leverage its extensive volunteer network to provide boots on the ground to take care of those projects suited to the capacity and skills of community volunteers. Read More
Rod Newton joined the Trust in January 2019 as our Volunteer and Programs Coordinator. He comes to us with 20 years of experience organizing volunteers, coordinating logistics, and managing risk in diverse outdoor settings. Read More
As the government shutdown stretches into its second month, the C&O Canal Trust continues our work in support of the C&O Canal National Historical Park, but without our valued National Park Service (NPS) colleagues at our side. Because we share office space which was closed due to the shutdown, the Trust staff have been working from home as we plan for our spring Canal Pride events, manage Canal Quarters, and raise funds for towpath resurfacing and Canal Classrooms. Read More
The Trust is able to make a positive impact along the 184.5-mile length of the Park only with the support of our donors and the help of committed volunteers. In fiscal year 2018, 1,302 Trust volunteers performed 10,032 hours of service, worth $281,690 in in-kind labor.
Hagerstown, MD – The C&O Canal Trust today announced a t-shirt artwork contest to commemorate the 12th anniversary of their Canal Pride events. Amateur artists are invited to create and submit artwork that celebrates the 12th anniversary of this volunteer-driven event. The winning design will be printed on our Canal Pride t-shirts and worn by hundreds of volunteers as they work in the C&O Canal National Historical Park during the spring months. Read More
Longtime Park and Trust volunteer and former Trust Board Member Robert Mertz won the George and Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding individual Volunteer Service for the National Capital Region for the work he did in 2017. Read More
Following a yearlong process, the C&O Canal Trust has launched its new strategic plan, covering 2019 to 2023, that lays out ambitious but achievable goals to strengthen private support for the C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP) through philanthropy, volunteerism, and advocacy. Read More
Cheyenne Sebold, the Trust’s Programs and Partnerships intern, recently presented a poster at the Chesapeake Conservation Corps’ annual Chesapeake Watershed Form focusing on volunteer based invasive plant programming to manage invasive species in the C&O Canal National Historical Park. Read More
On Friday, October 19, 2018, Stephen Chaudet took the helm of the Trust’s Board of Directors as its new Chairman after having served four years as Vice Chairman of the Board and Chair of the Development Committee. Read More
The C&O Canal Trust will be hosting its Eighth Annual Park After Dark gala event on Saturday, September 15, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. to benefit the C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP). This unique event is held under the stars at the Historic Great Falls Tavern within the C&O Canal NHP and features live music, great food, libations, a silent auction, a campfire, and more. A paddle raise will also be held to raise funds to make long-term sustainable repairs to the towpath and fix damage from the recent flooding. Read More
The C&O Canal Trust will be holding its first-ever C&O Canal Giving Days April 21-29, 2018, coinciding with National Park Week. C&O Canal Giving Days is an opportunity for the community to make financial gifts to support the ongoing preservation and beautification of the C&O Canal National Historical Park. Read More
The C&O Canal Trust’s new mobile app, the C&O Canal Explorer, was awarded the Innovative Product Partnership Award from the Public Lands Alliance on February 28 during the Public Lands Alliance Convention and Trade Show in Palm Springs, CA. Read More
Two years ago, we announced the rehabilitation of Swains Lockhouse and successfully raised $75,000 for the project. Well, the wheels of historic preservation sometime turn slowly, and we encountered several delays while we looked for a contractor who could restore Swains to its former glory in a fiscally-responsible manner. We persevered and are thrilled that construction began last week on the rehab! Read More
Please note: The 12 p.m. lecture has sold out. Please email [email protected] if you would like to be placed on a waiting list. We hope you will join us at the open house, which does not require an RSVP.
Free open house at Lockhouse 10 to follow.
Potomac, MD – The C&O Canal Trust and the C&O Canal National Historical Park will host a lecture on Sunday, February 25 from 12-1 p.m. by historian Dr. Josh Howard about two African American Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps that existed along the C&O Canal from 1938-1942. Located near Cabin John and Carderock, Maryland, the camps were established as a part of the New Deal program and are a unique lens to examine the African American experience in the CCC, as most of the CCC’s history has been based on its white enrollees. Howard will present his research as a part of Black History Month. Read More
The C&O Canal Trust will be hosting a clean-up event at Lock 8 in the C&O Canal National Historical Park to mark the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Monday, January 15. Approximately 30 volunteers from the local area will be removing invasive winter plants and picking up trash around Lock 8, located off Clara Barton Parkway in Cabin John, Montgomery County, MD. Read More
The C&O Canal National Historical Park was awarded $3.45 million from the Transportation Alternatives Program through the Maryland Department of Transportation, thanks to the vocal support of the C&O Canal Trust and the greater canal community: $2.45 million for “A Rewatered Canal” and $1 million for “Towpath Rehabilitation: A Safe Towpath.” Read More
The C&O Canal Trust will be installing 15 new benches in 2018 in the C&O Canal National Historical Park at popular access points between Swains Lock and Cumberland, thanks to philanthropists Daofeng He and his wife Angela Yang Cui. The couple is making the donation in appreciation for the Park and to provide a much-needed amenity for visitors upriver from Great Falls. Read More
The C&O Canal Trust recently welcomed three new members to the Board of Directors, John Schnebly, Anthony Stacy, and Anne Wallace. Read More
The C&O Canal Trust hosted the first participants in its new Canal For All initiative this spring, demonstrating the popularity and promise of the program aimed at building relationships with diverse communities along the C&O Canal. Read More
The C&O Canal Trust announced today that the National Park Service Centennial Challenge Program has provided a $100,000 matching grant to support the rehabilitation of Swains Lockhouse in Potomac. The grant, supported by Maryland Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, will be matched by $108,160 raised by the C&O Canal Trust, the Friends of Historic Great Falls Tavern, and the C&O Canal Association. It will be used to fund deferred maintenance on a critically-endangered lockhouse. Read More
The C&O Canal Trust announces the release of its new mobile app, “C&O Canal Explorer,” to aid users in exploring the 184.5 miles and 20,000 acres of the C&O Canal National Historical Park. The app is available for download on both Android and Apple devices from their respective app stores.
As Aaron Siskind once said “Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever….It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” Read More
The volunteer Quartermasters responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of the C&O Canal Trust’s Canal Quarters lockhouses have been honored with the Harrison Award for Volunteers at Preservation Maryland’s Best of Maryland Preservation Awards Ceremony. Read More
Following a competitive review, the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington has named the C&O Canal Trust one of the best nonprofits in the Washington, DC, area. To be included in the Class of 2017-18, the C&O Canal Trust underwent extensive vetting and was judged to have met the Catalogue’s high standards. Potential donors can be confident that the nonprofits in the Catalogue are worthy of their support. This is the first time the Trust has been included in the Catalogue. Read More
May 2 is Washington County Gives. Your donation to the Trust will be matched whether you live in-county or not! Plus, join us on May 2 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Stone Wall Tavern in Hagerstown for a celebration to wrap up Washington County Gives! A portion of beer sales will benefit the Trust. Read More
The C&O Canal Trust will launch a new diversity outreach initiative this spring aimed at increasing Latino and African American participation in Trust programs. Read More
The C&O Canal Trust, in partnership with the C&O Canal National Historical Park, has announced the dates of their 10th annual C&O Canal Pride Days, the single largest volunteer event to take place in the Park each year. An estimated 300-400 volunteers from around the community are expected to attend and will spend the morning working on projects to restore and revitalize the C&O Canal National Historical Park.
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